freedom tastes sweet (redemption time)
by ChocolateWonder
Summary: Sirius was wrongfully locked away in Azkaban. How did he escape?


**Written for...**

 **Writing Club |Showtime|** Night Surgeon- (word) remember

 **Around the World in 31 Days-** Saint Kitts & Nevis: (character) Sirius Black

 **Word Count: 1547**

* * *

The dementor's scaly hands cling to the bars of his cell, rattling it and looming threateningly. The temperature of the diminutive cell drops rapidly until its inhabitant is chilled to the bone.

Sirius Black stares defiantly at the dementor hovering in front of the bars, looking into its hooded face. He is unafraid of the dementors; he's been imprisoned for years, so he's nearly numb to the frigidity. He also knows he can just transform into his Animagus and lessen the all-consuming fear.

The day James and Lily were murdered had been agonizing and he'd been enraged to find out Pettigrew had ratted them out. He had hunted him down, intent on avenging his dead friends, and had been framed for a crime he hadn't even committed. The Ministry had thrown him in Azkaban without a trial, convinced that he was responsible for James, Lily, Pettigrew's, and thirteen unnamed Muggles' deaths.

The dementor glides on, but Sirius remains motionless. There is no need for him to move in the cramped cell, with the small table and chair occupying most of the available space. A stale crust of bread lies on the grimy table. The chair has cobwebs decorating it, and Sirius picks at one absentmindedly.

Sirius's appearance reflects the condition of the cell. His face is sallow and drawn; his eyes bloodshot from malnutrition, and his body thin. His stomach growls loudly in protest, but Sirius doesn't move. He is weak from lack of food and residing in this filthy cell. He barely has enough energy to transform. Food is meager, water is less, and the mood is despairing.

He is disconsolate because he knows his godson is out there, vulnerable and utterly alone. The best thing he can hope is that Remus gains custody of the boy, or even Albus. But apart from that, Harry has no real family. And that tortures Sirius because it was his own rashness that landed him here, when he could be protecting and providing Harry with the care and love he needed.

He doesn't know how much longer he can last without succumbing.

...oOo…

 _Seven years later_

Sirius leaps to his feet as soon as his cell door is unlocked. The prison guards allow him and the other occupants of Azkaban to have a supervised stroll through the jail once a week. It is something Sirius unwillingly does, because even though he doesn't fear the dementors, he would rather not have his soul sucked away. Besides, being in the itty-bitty cell for too long gave him cramps in his legs since he had to do nothing but sit around all the time.

But today is different. Today he has a goal to accomplish, and it could mean the difference between freedom and being locked up the rest of his life. He would rather die trying to escape rather than waste away in the dingy cell.

The guards leer menacingly at him but he feels nothing except for cool indifference. They are nothing but bullies. Once he escapes, they won't his primary problem.

Sirius takes a right at the intersection of the four routes in the prison. The guards flank him.

A piercing shriek rings through the narrow corridor, prompting the guards to halt. Sirius stops as well. He has heard this shriek before, but couldn't remember who it belonged to. It sounds like a woman's.

One guard speaks in a low tone to the other, but Sirius hears it anyway. His heightened senses from being a dog Animagus help him eavesdrop on the guards. Even after more than decade of imprisonment, his canine senses have not dulled.

"I hear something," whispers one guard, who is burly and dark-haired. "I think it might be that nutcase, Lestrange."

Sirius perks up, briefly wondering which Lestrange the guard was referring to.

"I'm assuming you mean the deranged female Lestrange," the other guard guesses.

His cousin, Bellatrix. Of course. Sirius stifles a chuckle.

"Yes, of course," the stout guard replies, a hint of impatience in his gruff voice. "I'll go check it out."

"Please do," the other guard says. Sirius can detect a trace of fear in his voice.

The bigger guard swiftly strides in the other direction, his heavy feet pounding the slate floor. Sirius waits a few heartbeats until the hefty man's footsteps fade away, then he jumps onto the guard, using whatever strength he has.

His weight, despite being significantly less than it should have been at his age, was enough to bowl over the guard, who was presumably only a couple kilograms heavier than the underweight prisoner.

Sirius slaps a hand over the guard's mouth to muffle the sound of his shouts for help. Feeling particularly daring, he tears off a strip of fabric from his raggedy clothing, balls it up, and stuffs it into the guard's mouth as a gag.

"Shut up and listen," he hisses. "You will not tell anyone about this. Otherwise, I will hunt you down and I _will_ kill you."

He is shamelessly using his supposed reputation to terrify this guard into submission, and he found that he likes it. It felt nice to have someone fear him rather than the other way around.

The guard shudders and his wide eyes tell Sirius that he would oblige his request to seal his lips and never reveal this ambush.

Sirius clambers off of him and shakily stands that attack has drained a lot of his energy. The guard rises to his feet as well, gazing fearfully at Sirius.

"Now, tell me the fastest way out of here," he orders threateningly, roughly yanking the gag out of his mouth. The guard chokes, his eyes watering.

"Y-You can't l-leave the prison or the island w-without a wand," he stutters nervously, quaking under Sirius's heavy glare. The prisoner almost feels bad for him, but he has use force if he wants to escape.

"Then surrender your wand to me."

The guard shakes his head defiantly. "I can't. I am under strict orders—"

"Fuck those orders," Sirius snarls. "Just hand over your bloody wand and you'll stay unscathed."

His life on the line, the guard reluctantly extracts his wand and passes it over to Sirius, who examines it.

" _Lumos."_

The tip of the wand lights up. Sirius smiles triumphantly before it becomes a scowl.

" _Nox,"_ he mutters, the corridor darkening back into its usual gloominess.

"I need directions," he demands. "Tell me or just lead me out. One of the two."

The guard trembles, but under Sirius's unwavering stare he gulps and says, "Follow me."

His newly acquired wand held aloft, Sirius tails the guard closely as they wind through a labyrinth of narrow corridor and steep stairs.

He sees sweat shining on the guard's neck and feels rather guilty, so he thinks of rewarding the man for all of his assistance. But then he catches a glimpse of the dementors outside and decides that maybe it isn't the best idea. Besides, he couldn't waste time; he had engineered a plan and time was a factor in it.

He feels slightly uneasy. The guard could be leading him into a trap, for all he knew.

"We're almost there," the guard confirms, a tremor in his voice.

Sirius jabs the tip of the wand into the guard's neck. "You better not be lying to me."

A fresh wave of sweat breaks out of the guard's neck. "O-Of course not."

Sirius holds him at wandpoint until he sees a large set of wooden doors and quickly lowers his wand.

"This is the way out," the guard says. "Wait for a few minutes; the guards patrolling the entrance will be leaving for their lunch break shortly. Then make your getaway. You'll have to somehow produce multiple Patronuses, to keep the dementors away. Currently, the guards have a Ministry-approved shield to protect them from the dementors, but it will vanish the moment they leave."

Sirius nods, gripping the wand tightly and mentally preparing himself for the arduous journey that lay ahead. He has been through hell and back, so this should be easy.

But this will test his sanity; whether or not he can escape. The stakes are high both inside and outside the fortress, but he will at least lose his soul knowing he tried to gain freedom.

Sirius looks almost sympathetically at guard who helped him. He is waiting expectantly for Sirius to approach the doors.

"Thank you," he says, resisting the urge to reach out and give him a hug. The guard stares at him with shock, but he bobs his head with acknowledgement and flees.

And then Sirius creeps to the door, his ear pressing against it. He can hear the guards' footsteps drawing away from the door, then he dares to poke his head out. Not a guard in sight.

His body shifts into his dog form and the dementors, though they are void of any feeling, they drift closer as a black dog innocently strolls out of the doors, a stick clutched in its mouth.

They swoop in around him, and the usual chill crawls over him, but it is not that overwhelming. He has a motive, he has a plan, and the will to survive.

But most of all, he wants to see his orphaned godson again.


End file.
